Starry Night
by Italian Skunk
Summary: Antonio was lonely and Lovino was everything phenomenal. [Gift-fic for The Forgotten Traveller]
1. the curse

**Prompts - "You were always the quiet one." / "There was a legend about the well in the garden."**

* * *

When Antonio was seven, he tossed four quarters into the well.

One quarter the next day.

A dime the day after that.

Then there was a nickel.

A penny.

And then, he didn't know what else to give. He didn't have any more money, so he sat by the well and cried.

* * *

There was a story about the well in the woods.

It had been built when a farm and its acres of land still resided there.

At some point, a raging fire took the beautiful crops and the beautiful animals and the beautiful family, and left ashes in their place. All in the span of a single treacherous summer day.

The well was where the family had got their supply of water, and that was all that remained intact.

After many years, life began to return. A forest started to take shape, but left a clearing for the well.

The well, when discovered by travelers, they would toss in coins and make such silly wishes. Such hopeful wishes.

The wishes would come true.

* * *

Perhaps wishing for one hundred friends was a bit too much. Twenty-five, even. And ten. And five. And one.

Perhaps he was destined to be friendless.

Perhaps he was destined to be alone.

* * *

Antonio gave up on that childish wish.

Because he wanted to, because none of his wishes were granted.

Because his mother laughed sympathetically and told him that the feeling of being the new kid in town would eventually wear off and he had to give it time. She was right, and he gained friends.

* * *

There was sweet Emma. In middle school, at some point, he probably broke her heart and her heart, it probably flooded with water and white tulips. They were still friends, though.

There was Emma's grumpy brother, Lars. They had each others' backs.

There was also Francis and Gilbert. The three of them together were an absolute mess.

And then there was Lovino, the new student.

* * *

Lovino had come into high school three months after it had started. He was soft-spoken when talking with the teachers, and swift to get to whatever empty seat he was given to. At one point, that empty seat was beside Antonio.

He almost always got a window seat, and spent class time watching the world outside.

He discovered that Lovino wore black earrings that looked like chips of obsidian. Chips of silver in the sunlight, and he drew dandelions. Blowing away or burning. There was a necklace around his neck, the chain stained bronze and inky, with tiny trinkets and charms hanging from it.

"You're a really good artist." Antonio complimented at the end of class when there was several minutes before the bell.

Lovino stopped sketching long enough to glance at Antonio, and Antonio couldn't believe the color of his eyes. Murky and warm, swampish. There were flashes of something cold, something brilliant, something mysterious.

Lovino didn't say anything. The bell rang.

* * *

At the end of the day, Antonio noticed Lovino disappearing into the school planetarium for Astrology Club.

* * *

Antonio didn't see much of Lovino throughout the school year, besides at, well, school. Lovino was still quiet towards him in their classes, didn't speak up much at all for anyone, but Antonio didn't mind it much.

All of his stupid moments, as Lars called them, always earned Antonio a smile that Lovino didn't think would be noticed.

That was great.

* * *

One Saturday morning in spring, and Antonio woke up feeling too tired and unlike himself in his dark bedroom. He changed clothes and splashed water on his face before bidding his mother good morning and then goodbye in hopes that a walk would keep him from unraveling into a possible nap.

So he went on his walk, wandering down the many streets with the blue early morning sky hanging over the town. The sun crept at the horizon, turning what it touched to a golden color.

Antonio walked all over the town, and walked the beaten road he'd run in the summer. His worn sneakers kicked up tiny clouds of dirt and dust when he scuffed them along the trail, hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket. The path ahead of him was long and winding into the approaching woods.

Antonio found himself becoming more awake as he went on his way, squinting against the sunlight at times to see.

He saw Lovino.

Lovino was walking in the grass, in a t-shirt and jeans with his arms full of fluffy, white dandelions. At times he would wander, searching for flowers, and stumble along the edge of the path, and there Antonio noticed that his friend was walking barefoot as well.

Antonio grinned to himself, and he broke off into a light jog.

"Hey, Lovi!" he called out.

Lovino whipped around, alarmed. The flowers scattered, littering the road, tiny seeds floating off in the wind. Lovino watched the flowers disperse as Antonio arrived, and he crouched down to quickly pick up the ones that still remained, before they too blew away on the gentle breeze.

"I'm so sorry, Lovi, I didn't mean to scare you…"

Lovino was staring down at him, at the mess around the both of them.

"I…" He swallowed thickly, as if ready to cry and willing every part of himself to not breakdown. His dark, glassy eyes searched the air now, searched for words that he could say. " _Please_ _leave._ "

Antonio was absolutely stunned, faltering where he sat with some of the damaged dandelions in his hands, the almost polite but entirely distressed order ringing in his ears. But that was also the first thing Lovino had finally said to _him_ since meeting at the beginning of the school year, and the simple words hit him hard, leaving Antonio a bit numb and upset.

"Lovi-"

"Leave! Go away!"

"... I can help you pick more, Lovi, if-..."

Disobeying his plea to leave caused Lovino to simply turn and run instead. He disappeared into the woods, abandoning Antonio on the dirt road.

* * *

Lovino didn't show up to school on Monday. Or Tuesday.

Shooting stars were predicted to occur that night. Antonio watched from his balcony. Nothing happened.

On Wednesday, Lovino came in late to fourth period, handing a white slip of paper from the nurse to their teacher. He sat in his window seat, watching the world outside and not doing the history worksheets placed on his desk.

"I'm sorry about your flowers, Lovi. Really, I am-!" Antonio tried to say at the end of class.

"I don't care." Lovino muttered illy, looking at him with chilling eyes. They looked like the sky at twilight. "The way I acted was pathetic. It wasn't your fault."

"I…" Antonio awkwardly responded.

"They," Lovino began to add, and it sounded like it pained him. He did look incredibly sick. "they were just flowers."

"Are you sure? They were dandelions, weren't they? The kind that aren't yellow just yet? I could pick some and drop them off by your place, if you'd like, so you don't have to go out yourself while you're still sick."

Lovino swallowed. "... No, I'm fine, you don't have to do that."

"But I want to make it up to you! What about-" The bell rang for lunch, interrupting Antonio. He found himself trying to keep up with Lovino in the hallway as he went to his locker and trying to think of things he might like to do. "a movie?"

"That costs money, so… no."

"Bookstore?"

"No."

"Out to eat? We can get pizza…?"

Lovino frowned and hesitated. He put away the binder for his morning classes and got out his Chemistry notebook to take with him to study for the upcoming test in that class. He slammed his locker closed, and turned to walk to the cafeteria. Antonio followed after him.

Lovino frowned again. "Fine, I'll get some pizza with you if it shuts you up."

"Really?"

Lovino stifled a sigh under his breath. "I suppose. You make it sound like a date though."

"Do I?"

"A bit, yes."

"Oh."

"Dork."

"Does that bother you?" Antonio asked after a moment, hesitant and wondering and suddenly he felt very anxious from not knowing the answer, looking at Lovino with a crisp, concerned gaze. The sunlight made his eyes look golden.

"... I don't know. Not really." Lovino admitted, sounding tired.

The cafeteria was approaching, and they could hear the loud chatter coming from those already inside. Antonio pressed his lips together in thought.

"Why don't you take it easy after school if you're still sick? I can bring the pizza to you."

Lovino narrowed his eyes a bit. "At the edge of the woods?" he suggested, and Antonio felt a slight tingle of curiosity but nodded in agreement nonetheless. "We can eat there."

Antonio grinned. "Okay."

The cafeteria doors closed behind them with a bang.

* * *

Antonio arrived at the the dip in the path where he had run into Lovino earlier that week just as the sun was setting over the horizon. Stars began to burn in the approaching ink spill, bright and twinkling.

Lovino was waiting for him, in the glory of dusk.

He waited quietly from where he sat on a tree stump, in a worn t-shirt and dark jeans, barefoot like he was before.

"I didn't think it would be that busy. I hope you're fine with pepperoni? And soda to drink? Orange?" Antonio fretted, lips twitching up in a slight, nervous grin.

Lovino stared at him for a single moment before his expression softened. It calmed Antonio down somewhat. He moved from sitting on the tree stump to sitting on the short grass. "It's fine. You really didn't have to do any of this, though."

"I wanted to." Antonio insisted, sitting the box on the tree stump and holding out one of the bottles of soda for Lovino to take. He sat down on the grass like Lovino had and opened the pizza box. In the chilly spring air, a small cloud of steam rose from the pizza. Hesitantly, they each reached for a slice of their own, though were ready to burn their fingertips.

* * *

Antonio and Lovino were relaxing in the grass after enjoying their pizza, staring up at the sky. The sky had dissolved into swirls of blacks and blues, wisps of clouds fading in and fading out with the stars burning and dancing.

The moon rose, hanging in the sky like a clean and shimmering quarter.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Antonio suddenly asked.

Lovino looked over at him, arms folded behind his head. His eyes were warm, confused, and reflected tiny galaxies of color. "I consider us friends, yes. Why?"

Antonio fell oddly quiet.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I really want to kiss you. It's bad. We're supposed to be friends-!"

Lovino was suddenly kissing Antonio, propping himself up on his elbow and leaning over Antonio slightly. It was rather awkward and careful. Antonio didn't know what to do with his hands, but then Lovino pulled away and the chilling spring air washed over them, and he settled back into the grass.

"It's okay."

"How is it okay-?"

"It's okay with me. I promise you, it is." Lovino murmured, staring up at the star-scattered sky, his hand fitting with Antonio's like two puzzle pieces. "Who said we're supposed to be friends? Antonio, who's ever said that to us? We can be whatever we want to be."

"Lovi…"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry. You're right." Antonio moved Lovino carefully to rest on top of him, arms cradling around his waist. They shared several wonderful kisses.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Lovino said.

It was early summer. School had ended three days earlier and they were in Antonio's bedroom on his bed. Antonio was relaxed against the headboard, and Lovino was on his lap. The balcony doors were open, letting in drafts of air that cooled their warm skin. They were silent and kissing until Lovino's breathless apology hit the air.

Antonio gently pressed another kiss to Lovino's neck. "Mm, pardon?"

Lovino pulled away, settling on the bed again across from Antonio with his legs folded underneath himself. He was quiet, his stare taunting Antonio of something he didn't know.

"... I'm sorry," he repeated after a minute. "for not granting your wish."

Antonio felt a shiver travel down his spine, leaving him numb. "What wish?" he still asked, though he could easily recall those two lonely weeks before he befriended Emma, and then Lars a week later.

Lovino frowned slightly.

"When you were seven years old…" Lovino began, voice a bit shaky. He was hesitant. "You gave me four quarters, for one hundred friends. The next day, you gave me a quarter in hopes of twenty-five friends. A dime for ten. You gave me a nickel to get five. One friend and you wished on a penny. The day after that, you didn't know what to give to get your wish granted so you sat by my well and cried."

Antonio swallowed. He felt like he was going to start crying, feeling cornered with a face becoming heated for a whole other reason. He felt betrayed. "How do you know that?" he hissed.

"Friends don't cost a $1.41, Antonio! Remember what your mother said? Give it time. You met Emma, Lars, Francis, and Gilbert because of that. If I'd never come into the picture…" Lovino's voice trailed off into a mutter.

"Why would you say that?" Antonio asked. His voice was quiet, a bit hoarse. Scared.

"I haven't been that honest. Obviously. I'm sorry."

"... Honest? About what?"

"Myself. Can't I tell you at the well?"

Antonio frowned. "You said it was _your_ well earlier. What do you mean by that?" At that, Lovino groaned and threw himself back onto the bed, sprawled out in misery. Lovino moved his arm away from his face after a minute, looking up at Antonio. Antonio's expression softened and he laid down beside him.

"Why don't you explain _yourself_ first?"

* * *

 _Lovino was reborn with the alignment of celestial bodies._

 _A shooting star fell from the sky when planets lined up with planets and it arched over the scarred land where beautiful crops once grew, where beautiful animals once roamed, where a beautiful family once lived._

 _Lovino woke up at the bottom of the well, covered in stardust with the bottoms of his feet burnt and poor recollection of dying in a fire._

 _It was home._

 _But a wishing well was still a wishing well, and after so much time alone, he woke one day with voices - wishes - echoing in his head and coins at his feet._

 _Such silly wishes. Such hopeful wishes._

 _Lovino made them all come true._

* * *

 _And then there were the stars. Dancing and twinkling, until they would slip and fall across the sky._

 _Lovino granted those wishes too._

* * *

"Why not my wish?"

Lovino glanced at him. "Why not your wish?" he repeated. "Did you not hear what I said earlier? Friends don't cost a money. You don't treat them like trash like that when each and every one of them is truly a once-in-a-lifetime-experience."

Antonio wondered about that.

There had been broken hearts and fights and falling outs, but in the end he was still friends with Emma and Lars, Francis and Gilbert, Lovino. He treasured them all.

"Why are you here if my wish bothered you so much?"

Lovino looked at Antonio almost curiously. Almost lost. "I don't know." he decided to say, softly. It sounded like he was sipping on moonlight, choking on mistakes and love. "I know it wasn't to fall in love, but I'm happy that I did anyways."

* * *

One night in July, they danced in the rain.

* * *

Antonio found Lovino lying on his bed, playing absentmindedly with the charms on his necklace. They sang and caught in the light. It was late August. School was going to start in the middle of the following week.

He settled down beside him, and Lovino sighed, showing a folded neon green square to him. Antonio unfolded it to reveal a flier, the black printer ink faded and the paper worn thin at the creases. He had seen them before, stapled to telephone poles and hung up in store windows.

It was from their school's Astrology Club. The teacher that hosted the club was welcoming its members back from summer vacation by hosting a gathering that would witness a meteor shower that was to occur two days before school would start.

It was open to the Club and the townspeople.

They would watch it in the field where they had watched the sky and shared kisses back in the spring.

"... What does that mean for you?" Antonio asked.

"I don't know."

"Something good? Bad?"

" _I don't know!_ "

Antonio looked away, picking at a thread on his blanket before laying down and wrapping his arms around Lovino. Lovino returned the embrace, hiding his face in Antonio's chest.

Lovino was for once quiet again, surrounded by his thoughts.

The light bulb that lit the bedroom with dim lighting burned out, leaving them in the single window of sunlight that fell across the room.

* * *

"... There are so many people here…" Antonio breathed.

Lovino and him sat at the edge of the group, near the trees, away from the mass of students and townspeople. They could easily escape for the well, as Lovino had told him he wanted to do no matter what, but that was all Antonio had heard from him.

"That's what worries me."

Antonio turned away from the crowd to look at him, curled up beside him with his legs pulled to his chest. They were sharing a blanket. Lovino didn't look away from the group until he began to speak again, his gaze to the sky. His eyes looked like a muddy silver. The new moon. A dirty nickel.

"I don't care... I want to go to the well."

Antonio swallowed down his fear and took Lovino's hand. They abandoned their blanket and ran into the woods.

Lovino darted between the trees with grace, and Antonio stumbled in his wake. There were cheers from faraway, and Lovino lost his footing.

Antonio tripped next, and they broke through the foliage to Lovino's clearing. They collapsed to the ground and Lovino kissed him. Again and again and again. He cried and he apologized because he was going to leave.

Through the breaks in the trees, the branches parting and the sky shattered around them like broken glass. Shooting stars flew by like how Lovino's tears fell down his face, silvery and quick. The stars danced with elegance in the puddle of ink that was the night sky. His tears dripped from his chin.

"Don't cry, it's okay." Antonio soothed, wiping away Lovino's tears.

"I never thought…" Lovino hissed and momentarily fell quiet. "It hurts. They're so loud. Why do they need these wishes? I want to go away."

The stars reflected in his suddenly dry eyes.

Antonio found himself wiping at his eyes instead. "No… You can't." he tried to say, aware that Lovino wasn't watching him but the sky instead.

The stars were slowing down, darting in scattered patterns. He could see it, but the voices were still loud and still asking for wishes. Such silly wishes. Such hopeful wishes.

"I didn't make a wish. Can't I ask for another wish from you?"

Lovino was quiet. He put his necklace around Antonio's neck. It was like he was made of stardust.

Since when were they standing by the well? Since when was Antonio _breaking_ to keep Lovino with him?

Lovino promised he'd come back.

"Don't go."

He just didn't know when.

"I love you."

Lovino was gone,

and

Antonio was all alone.

* * *

 **A/N - For my wonderful friend The Forgotten Traveller! I really had no idea where I was going with this, but hopefully this makes sense at least a little bit? I feel like the ending was rather rushed ;A; and that a couple details were forgotten along the way somewhere, but, aaahhh, I really hope you like it! /heart**


	2. the return

Three years.

Seventy-two meteor showers.

Lovino had managed to only visit twice so far in the three years, and both times Antonio had regretfully been asleep.

* * *

The first visit had been in the middle of Antonio's senior year of high school, when he'd woken up to get ready for the first day back after winter break and found his dark room glowing with floating yellow tufts. He'd trapped one in his hands like catching a firefly, began to cry when its soft warmth tickled the palms of his hands. The literal stardust huddled in the darkest corners of his bedroom, clung to the walls, burrowed into the deep folds of his blankets.

There were melting puddles of slush on the floorboards, footprints rimmed with golden embers.

Like they had traveled about his room, had stalled by his bedside to sit on the edge with him.

A piece of folded notebook paper had been placed on his bookbag with the creases worn thin and the sheet yellowed and soft around the edges. Two boxes, one patch of dandelions blowing away and the other burning. A message in the corner. _Don't be upset, you needed the sleep. Love you._

When Antonio came home that same day after school, he went to his room and found the stardust reduced to ashes in the sunlight, the footprints dried hours before.

* * *

The second visit had been after Antonio had settled into his first apartment. A brick building in the downtown area with just a five minute bus ride to his college campus and a ten minute bus ride to the house where he'd grown up, he could see between the buildings the rolling meadow and the lining of the woods where everyone had gathered for the meteor shower. The destructive starry night.

His apartment was minimalist. His bed was just a mattress on the floor. Enough dishes for one. He only kept his nicer clothes hanging in the bedroom closet. No TV, but his aged laptop served for entertainment when it wasn't being used for college work. His alarm clock was balanced on a cookbook, a mythology book, an old, favorite novel, and a couple of thick astronomy books.

Antonio had woken up that morning, the curtains drawn to make his room dark. The lights were flickering, dying.

The overhead light. His laptop. His lamp. The kitchen lights. The bathroom lights.

More stardust. Mostly ashes.

One of the astronomy books was open to its glossary. A yellow highlighter had rolled away to rest against his stack of school books, uncapped and dry. Two words and their definitions, staring back at him like blinding city lights.

 _ **aphelion**_ _\- noun - the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun._

 _ **perihelion**_ _\- noun - the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun._

Lovino was coming home.

* * *

A couple months later.

Classes were done for the day. He made a detour to the well in the woods.

It was overflowing with stardust.

* * *

It was Saturday. A soft, autumn Saturday. The fluffy dandelions on the floor beside his mattress in a glass of sugared water were dying.

Antonio laid awake in bed, one arm behind his head and the other absentmindedly cradling the charm necklace. The trinkets were cold and worn against his fingertips. A seashell. An anchor. A star. A heart. A teal bead. A paper clip hanging on a safety pin.

The curtains were open and the sunlight drizzled in, bright and sleepy. He was warm, and moved to curl up under the thin, navy blanket.

It was one in the afternoon, and suddenly there came a tapping.

Antonio almost answered the door without putting on a shirt. Light gray. The charms glinted. His hair was a mess.

He approached the door again, his feet bare and the floorboards cold. He twisted the doorknob and threw open the door curiously. He inhaled sharply.

Lovino smiled faintly, one hand balancing a white pizza box and the other cradling two bottles of orange soda. "I didn't think it'd be that busy." he quoted warmly. "I hope you're fine with pepperoni?"

* * *

It was two in the morning. The sun had been replaced with rain. It had been raining for hours… Antonio was playing gentle, scratchy music on his laptop.

Lovino leaned against Antonio, arms around his neck loosely. Antonio held him close. Their slow kisses tasted like sugary orange as they rocked in time with the song.

"Just like July, hm?" Antonio mumbled in-between kisses. A single night of dancing in the rain.

Lovino moved one hand to Antonio's hair, head resting slightly against Antonio's as he smiled. "Mm… Not really."

Antonio sighed, laughing softly. "... How are you here right now?" he whispered instead after a moment. "It's been three years, and there's gotta be so many more wishes, I'm sure."

Lovino hummed softly, embracing Antonio tightly. "Yeah, but I saved the best for last." he murmured. "You're not alone, and I won't be leaving any time soon."

* * *

 **A/N - So... A long time ago, a couple people mentioned a sequel. I thought about it yet honestly thought I would never do it because I liked it so much as a one-shot... but then inspiration hit, and I was screwed.**

 **It's short, yeah, but I hope you enjoyed it! :D**


End file.
